Morning Bell: Obama’s Hidden Tax Hikes

EXCLUSIVE: It could be said that President Obama has never seen a tax hike he doesn’t like — whether it’s letting the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire, insisting on higher taxes for job creators, and yesterday calling on Congress to raise taxes on the oil industry. But as much as the President wants to raise taxes, Heritage has discovered that there are even more tax hikes hidden in his budget, adding up to a total of $2 trillion in higher taxes.

In a new report, Heritage’s Curtis Dubay uncovers Obama’s hidden tax hikes and finds that the President’s proposed $1.561 trillion tax increase over 10 years is much bigger than advertised. In fact, the President wants to raise taxes by $1.689 trillion — that’s $128 billion more than was reported by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the President’s FY 2013 budget proposal.

What’s to account for the discrepancy? Dubay explains that OMB reports the tax hikes in areas other than the tax section, misleading readers into believing that the President’s tax hikes are smaller than they are in reality. Among them are the “Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee,” better known as the bank tax, which adds another $61 billion to the President’s tax hike total; a $44 billion tax hike from allowing the IRS to adjust a program integrity cap; a $48 billion increase of the unemployment tax; and a $1 billion hike of user fees for commercial navigation of inland waterways.

How’s that for “the most transparent White House in history”?

But wait, there’s even more.

On top of the $128 billion in hidden taxes, the President takes credit for tax cuts when he really doesn’t deserve it. Dubay reports that the budget includes $317 billion in pre-existing tax cutting policies, including the payroll tax holiday ($31 billion), the American Opportunity Tax Credit ($137 billion), the Research and Experimentation Credit ($109 billion), the group of tax-reducing policies known as the “tax extenders” ($34 billion), along with a handful of other provisions totaling $6 billion — even though these policies were already part of the tax code. In other words, the President wants to get all the credit, while dodging the blame.

Take away those wrongly counted cuts and the President actually wants to raise taxes by more than $2 trillion!

Congress should disregard the misleading tax hike figure from OMB’s table and use the correct $2 trillion amount when referring to the total tax hikes in the President’s budget. And Members of Congress should question OMB as to why they chose to mislead readers about the total tax hike that President Obama has called for on American taxpayers.

Why does all this tax talk matter? Take a look at the economy. America is experiencing a historically slow recovery, the likes of which haven’t been seen since World War II. Private-sector employment is 4.5 percent below pre-recession levels, unemployment remains at 8.3 percent — the highest since the 1981-1982 recession — and only 63.7 percent of adult Americans are active in the labor force, the lowest since 1983. Meanwhile, small businesses say taxes are among their most important problems — they fear Washington will raise taxes in order to pay for even more spending, so they’re sitting on the sidelines and not producing jobs. Now it appears that their worst fears are coming true.

Instead of raising taxes through the roof and hiding a chunk of those tax hikes from the American people, Washington should pursue policies that encourage growth and will help put the unemployed back to work. One way to do it is with Heritage’s “New Flat Tax” which simplifies the tax system and encourages investment.

America doesn’t need $2 trillion in higher taxes, especially in a time of a weak recovery. And it certainly doesn’t need them slipped through under their noses. The President’s budget claims credit for tax cuts he doesn’t deserve, hides the true cost of the tax hikes he imposes, and punishes job creators instead of encouraging them to expand. Consider it the President’s secret recipe for a weak economy.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar say they’re prepared to send weapons to Syrian rebels who are enduring a violent crackdown from dictator Bashar al-Assad’s government. It is feared that such efforts could fuel a civil war and lead to wider conflict.

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Obama likes to by-pass congress buy putting restrictions and new fees on items, like energy, which is actually a new tax And rhese fees are not on the rich, but the working class who he really doesn't want to go back to work. Don't forget, his administration works for Obama. Do you really believe the un-employment numbers are going down? They are not going down. People are dropping off un-employment, still loosing their homes. and he stops a pipeline that would of put thousands of blue collar workers back to work. People who more than likely are Democrats, his own party workers.

I agree with everything you have said about Obama and his REQUESTED tax increases. If he gets them don;t blame him blame the Congress which must approve them. It is high time that the Congress receive the due blame for not doing their job in controling spending, and standing firm on the duties assigned them by the constitution. I for one am tired of seeing those we have elected to represent us do nothing to standup against this tyrant.

this is not about Obama, it is about the country… All the people that are in the senate and representative are been pay by the same government and tax payer money… Without taxing the country will not be able to build up the economic… We know that times are hard but we need to improved the economic.. the money goes to the country treasure not the president pocket… The president love his country and would do anything to protect the this country..

This adminsitration hasn't developed a budget for over 1000 days so how can anyone expect that they would do anything to make the economy better? The real issue is the amount of spending and it's clear that until the binge is stopped nothing much will change. Higher taxes, less freedom, bigger government are all main stay of this administration. Is it November yet?

You know, the new taxes could almost be acceptable it it went towards the deficit, But, this will be spent on crony capitalism and green agendas that will be useless in the near term, nothing to reduce the deficit or debt. We borrowed trillions for bail-outs and other methods of buying votes and when the payback came from the "loans" they were never applied to the deficit/debt. Lucy and the football over and over we become Greece. This is a planned destruction of the economy for whatever reason the current administration sees for the future. Cloward and Pivens may have the answer.

If the economy ever gets fixed then revenues will go up. It's a proven fact from history that tax increases actually REDUCE revenues whereas tax CUTS have always INCREASED revenues. Don't ask me how this works but history has proven time and time again that it does.

As far as the wars go, we got no business being in EITHER now that Osama is gone and we need to stay OUT of Syria!

Sorry, but you are flat out wrong. Trickle down economics has never, ever worked. If your theory was correct, our economy would be busting at the seams since we have the lowest taxes in the history of our country. Please actually think for yourself instead of just blindly following your party of choice.

Because your math is completely wrong, that's why. Revenues do not decrease when taxes are increased. That is patently false. We have the lowest taxes in our history yet our economy has been in the toilet for over 4 years. Please think before you type or speak.

Did you forget another hidden tax – the 3.8% capital gains tax on residential real estate hidden in Obamacare which you mention in your 10/22/10 report, to wit:
"The bill would impose essentially a capital gains taxes on some home sales made by a limited number of taxpayers. (The health care law contains a new 3.8 percent tax on “unearned income” for high-income taxpayers. Unearned income includes capital gains.) To be hit by the 3.8 percent capital gains tax, you first have to be a married couple making more than $250,000 in adjusted gross income or $200,000 if you are single. The capital gain on the home sale must also exceed $500,000 if this is a primary home and you are a married couple ($250,000 for singles)."

Your New Flat Tax still is an income tax and keeps the IRS. Eventually it will revert to what we have now. Congress has a way of doing that. We need to get rid of the income tax. Nuts to a flat tax. Support the Fair Tax, which as you should know is a tax on consumption, a retail sales tax on new goods and services while eliminating all payroll and corporate income taxes, the death tax, etc.. The proposal also offers a constitutional amendment recinding the income tax, getting rid of it. A prebate system giving back to everyone the tax on the poverty level income, makes it "progressive". What's not to like?

I like everything you said about the Fair Tax except giving a prebate to everyone on the poverty level. In order to get the prebate, those people would have to prove their income, which is none of the government's beeswax. Poor people buy less stuff and more well off people tend to buy more stuff, so a consumption tax is already progressive. Those who earn less or are on welfare need to feel the sting of taxation just as well as those who earn more, otherwise we have a class of citizens who can just vote themselves money from the treasury. Having some who pay no taxes also makes the rest of us slaves to those who pay no taxes.

Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, surprises me anymore!!! I have gotten to the point where I blow off any government calculations when it comes to unemployment, to what the projected national debt is, and literally ANYTHING our President or his administration says . . . They purposefully LIE to us on a daily basis!!! I do not consider my self to incompetent and therefore, I learned my lesson when this President got elected, and then began the process of dismantling nearly everything I hold dear. He is destroying OUR heritage one relatively small piece at a time, and it still surprises me that few Americans are even remotely concerned. Why doesn't mainstream Americans recognize what is really happening?

Apparently we have forgotten the lessons of history, even as recently as WWII!!! What made the Jews accept what the Nazis did to them without any need to fight back? I read somewhere recently that once you are told a lie loud enough and long enough, you begin to believe it is the truth. That is EXACTLY what happened to the Jews, and that, my friends, is EXACTLY what is happening to us. I keep thinking that we are at the point where Americans will take a stand and say, "ENOUGH!!! No more . . . we want our country back!" But sadly, it is almost like the lessons of history never existed; they no longer are taught in TRUTH, and the progressives are quickly erasing the history we need to remember.

In December, 2009 Michelle Obama said the following: "Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we're going to have to change our traditions, our history; we're going to have to move into a different place as a nation." Perhaps no more prophetic words have ever been spoken! But we didn't hear her, and even those who did were not bold enough to question the intent.

Statements like this should have been causing alarm bells to ring across this country, and yet it appears we were so desperate to listen to a charismatic guy to reads really well from a teleprompter, we were willing to elect him to the highest office in our land . . . . and what do we REALLY know about him, even now??? Absolutely NOTHING!!!! But one thing I know for sure: this man will be in your history books. The real question is whether he will be remembered as a force for good or a force for evil when it comes to sustaining the Republic.

I am a proud Heritage member. But I must say that Heritage is being unprincipled in calling the estate tax a death tax. It is due upon transferring wealth under given conditions, does not require death, and thus is an inheritance (receive as an heir) tax. Rational people don't trust or believe unprincipled persons or entities.

a death tax is a tax on one's estate upon death. The "Estate" contains the total assets of the person who has passed away. It's not bad enough that the government has taxed someone all their life, but to take annother 55% (above the exemption limit) limits what a family can pass on to the heirs of the "Estate." Thus the term "Death Tax." to explain government again taxing someone after their death..

So much for Transparency, huh? Obama is another Tax & Spend Liberal, but worse, he's a Socialist. Take more wealth & spend it, problem is, we have run out of other people's money and deep in debt! Maybe we have to pass more of his bills to see what is in them, LOL……………what total BS! ! !

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million Americans are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country according to Charley Reese. I agree and we as Americans need to clean house in 2012, get rid of the entire group and start over!

Wih his elevated EGOand his high opinion of himself, no one does right but him, he and he alone know what is proper for us, all the while he's flying all over the country , using OUR MONEY, campaigning. He breaks more laws in one day than the most of us do in a lifetime. DNC is suppose to be paying all these cost, where is the outrage??

Why should anyone be surprised by this "revelation". This administration has been lying and blowing smoke onjust about every issue, ignoring the Constitution, ignoring the orders of Federal judges, violating the Constitution , stealing money (from GM and Chysler by taking bonds from legitimate bond holders and delivering them to the auto unions), and enriching big Democrat contributors with pork barrel spending and 'green" project spending, ever since Obama crossed the threshold of the White House. And that is only a partial list!

Because they are chicken. They either support Obama's illegal activity or they think that impeaching him will hurt them politically. Interesting that the latter group doesn't consider that it will hurt them politically if they DON"T impeach him!

Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, surprises me anymore!!! I have gotten to the point where I blow off any government calculations when it comes to unemployment, to what the projected national debt is, and literally ANYTHING our President or his administration says . . . They purposefully LIE to us on a daily basis!!! I do not consider my self to incompetent and therefore, I learned my lesson when this President got elected, and then began the process of dismantling nearly everything I hold dear. He is destroying OUR heritage one relatively small piece at a time, and it still surprises me that few Americans are even remotely concerned. Why doesn't mainstream Americans recognize what is really happening?

There is only one answer for the country to have any chance in correcting itself as congress is not effective regardless of who controls and considering the time involved in debate and ultimate implementation. DO NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA. (anyone is preferrable to him)

The problem is that one needs to either be insanely wealthy or dirt poor. Those who are really wealthy can handle this nonsense and the various tax shelters provided by Congress allow them to manage their wealth. The dirt poor are on the dole and get so much "free stuff" that there is little incentive to become self responsible. And now we have generations of welfare recepients that have learned to "work the system" by voting for those who will give them more stuff ie food stamps, ADC, cell phones, and the like. People like us are the ones that get the shaft. I agree that its time to clean house. There simply are too many agendas takling place – ie Agenda 21, "Hope and Change" (or, socialism for fun and profit for the elite), and Islamification for my taste. Our founding fathers got it right – and now its getting screwed up.

Too bad so few people understand the FAIR TAX-it would solve so many of our problems with no true adverse effects. Without exception the people who oppose it are gaming the current system or are woefully ignorant of how it would work and the positive effect on our economy. See for yourself at FAIRTAX.ORG

Slick, you echoed my sentiments exactly. I am so totally frustrated that I can hardly speak coherently when I discuss the state of the union. I cannot understand why people cannot see what is happening to our country. Where have common sense and self worth gone? I weep for our country.Carole

It's time that Congress, the Senate and President address the issues of the working class. These people are the one's who have to pay for their home mortgage payments, insurances, health care, basic living expenses, retirement and the education of their children. They face increased fees and taxes from the local, state and federal government. Most are forced to have two income earners in the home. There is a Sewerage and Water Board employee in New Orleans, La. who reportedly will receive a retirement salary of over $175k and some kind of retirement bonus over $800K. These figures need to be checked but it demonstrates the out of control government that we have been accustomed to lately.

It's clear that the Administration is just fulfilling it's promise to re-distribute wealth.. The problem is that most people brushed this off durring the 2008 election. Now we have 3+ years of seeing that he wants the 99% against the 1%.. Unfortunately this has been tried before and it results in missery for all, rather then wealth for all..

A FLAT TAX is not the solution because it is regressive taxation which benefits the affluent wiTh middle class carrying the biggesT load. It is class warfare. We need to reform the graduated tax system that we have now by eliminating the special interest deductions, The reformed system should be indexed to account for inflation, the silent tax. But the partisans in Congress will not reform tne tax code because they do not know how to compromise.

The only chance we have at this point is that there is a revolt at the republican convention, and RON PAUL is nominated. otherwise, say hello to the one world government, hello Chip to buy and sell, and all Christians must starve, as stated in the Bible. The corporation is now working at breakneck speed to bring this about. I had hoped to be dead before it happened, but it is looking like it may occur any day now, and I have many years left, unless recalled early.

I am havilng difficulty swalling the fact that we have people in congress that sees this guy ruining our country and are doing nothing. I am greatful to have this organization providing me with information as to when we as "America" are done. It is here and NO ONE is putting a stop to it. If he wants to disregard the constitution, which he is doing, then why are we paying for 500+ people who are doing nothing???
The "King" is going to be in control. God's word says, "a home or government or country who fights within is doomed!!" Where are we at????

I am a firm believer that there should be no taxes on any service to the American citizen. The only taxes should be Federal taxes which support only defense and commerce. All other depts need to be eliminated and go back to the States if States deem it necessary. Perhaps States might have the real power in this country as the constitution demands. I say the federal government should only be in the business of domestic and foreign protection. Each state should be in charge of everything else ie, education and energy. Out side of this the States have the right to choose involement of other former federal depts. we should also have part time congress and senate as they are the problem not the solution. Why have federal taxes on goods and services when the states have the right to tax the people and not the federal government.

I've studied WWII Politics. Obama and Hitler have a lot in common. People of the Jewish faith was Hitler's chosen enemy of the German people. Obama's chosen, the top tax payers or affluent people. Hitler's enforcer group was the SA/Brown shirts and the dreaded SS/Gestapo. Obama's unofficial enforcers, New Black Panthers and Farrakhan's Nation of Islam. Hitler had the Hitler Youth organizations. Obama has American youth blinded by pretty speeches and some type HLS inspired youth group. They say those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. Obama rammed his healthcare agenda on us, and has those under the age of 30 duped. He's successfully created a us vrs them mindset. Our great Country is destined to fail under this administration. The real bad part is there really isn't anywhere to go as there was before WW II.

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